BARMM workers in Sulu to get salary in 2024 amid SC ruling

More than 5,000 Bangsamoro employees in Sulu will continue to receive their salary in 2024 amid the Supreme Court (SC) ruling, which excluded the province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

According to the Bangsamoro government, the salary of around 5,700 BARMM employees will be subject to the completion of required documentation.

“We received the official copy of the Supreme Court (SC) decision on September 16, which, in effect, sets the cutoff as to the appreciation of such ruling,” Bangsamoro Spokesperson, Mohd Asnin Pendatun, said.

SC has ruled that the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the law that established the BARMM, is valid. However, it declared that Sulu should not be part of BARMM due to the outcome of the plebiscite in 2019 wherein majority of Sulu’s voters rejected the BOL.

“We are looking into the general welfare of the Bangsamoro people in Sulu, leading to our recommendations that are mutually beneficial to all concerned,” Pendatun said.

Permanent personnel will still receive their salary "as usual," which covers September 1 to 15, 2024. However, starting September 16 onward, both permanent and contract of service personnel (COSP) are required to comply with the signing of the document of undertaking. The document states that in the event of disallowance, the salary received shall be returned to the government.

Pendatun said that “the contracts of the COSP need to be binding specifically with the ‘regional’ government.”

Unfilled positions will remain vacated unless otherwise ordered.

Pendatun said "the interim government still ‘explores’ legal options, addressing the SC decision to preserve the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process pursuant to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) — the final peace accord between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which halted the parties’ decades-long armed struggle."

“If you observe, ‘on or before December 31’ is emphasized because we are not closing the possibility that prior to concluding 2024, a new issuance or legal measure will be available,” Pendatun said. —GMA Regional TV